DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2015 7 NEWS Greece was among the top destinations for Australian tourists. PHOTO: AP PHOTO/ARIS MESSINIS. Multiculturalism to the fore CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A pitch was also made for the case of a national multicultural act in the federal parliament, with Helen Kapalos, chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, a part of the panel discussion. According to Sydney-based Themis Kallos, executive producer of SBS's Greek Language Program, the conference was well received, exceeding expectations. "People were very happy with what they're seeing, and the participants and speakers were of a high calibre. Australian tourists continue love affair with Greece Mediterranean features prominently with locals A new survey undertaken by Webjet Australia has found that Greece is top placed as the destination frequented by Australian tourists between the months January- August in 2014 and 2015. Other countries to feature prominently were fellow Mediterranean destinations Spain and Italy. The results coincide with those found by a similar survey which was conducted by the Bank of Greece on the country's tourism numbers, which found arrivals by nonGreeks rose 20.8 per cent be- tween January and June this year. Of those arrivals, 49,000 were Australians, comprising 0.7 per cent of the total number. A vast majority of arrivals in Greece are from other European countries, which accounted for 6.5 out of the 7.5 million visitors during that period. Government must regain public’s trust: Sinodinos Senior Liberal Arthur Sinodinos says the government lost the trust of the public in the 2014 budget and must work to regain it. The cabinet secretary and key advisor to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said part of the reason for the change in leadership was losing the trust of the Australian people. “We lost that trust after the 2014 budget, we can excuse it as much as we like by saying there was an urgency to do things, but part of the reason Malcolm Turnbull is prime minister today is because we needed to find a way to regain the trust of the Australian people,” Senator Sinodinos told Sky News. He believes the government also needs to ensure tax and other reforms are seen as fair, noting that was why reforms were currently on the table. The cabinet secretary of the Turnbull government said any future tax reform should be a co-operative venture between the federal government and the states to get the balance right. The senator was responding to a News Corp report that says the government is considering raising the GST to 15 per cent while making tax cuts for middle-income earners but keeping fresh food GST-free. The senator said the government is looking at getting the balance right between direct and indirect taxes like the GST. “This is a cooperative venture, this is not just about the feds on tax reform, this a cooperative venture with the states,” he said. But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten can't understand why the government believes raising the GST will solve all of Australia's problems. “I think it's the wrong idea for confidence, for families trying to make ends meet,” Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne. Mr George Aivatoglou and Mr George Lekakis, CEO of Fronditha Care with the donated tool box and original work bench, in Mr Aivatoglou’s family home in Parkdale, that he built. Mr George Aivatoglou has generously donated to Fronditha Care his original tool kit and work bench that he transported on the passenger ship ‘Patris’, all the way from Edessa in 1967. This very special donaon will be used to create Fronditha Care’s rst ever ‘Men’s Shed’ at Fronditha Care St Albans, Thalpori. The ‘Men’s Shed’ will provide residents with the space, the tools and equipment to build relaonships, express their creave side and enjoy acvies that many of their generaon have specialised in, like cabinet making, carpentry and wood cras. Mr George Aivatoglou grew up in Edessa, Greece and began his career in carpentry when he was only 10 years old. Aer discovering that carpentry was his true passion, he le school at the age of 12 to pursue his love of building, xing doors and windows, and cabinet making. When he arrived in Australia, in 1962 with no English, the only job vacancy available to him was as a carpenter on the Bulla Mountain. On the morning of his rst day on the job, George jumped on a work truck from Port Melbourne that was lled with carpentry tools and materials and connued on his way to an unknown locaon that was Mt Bulla. Lile did George know that the job he was about to pursue would also be the beginning of his carpentry legacy and property acquisions on the mountain. George also pursued working at the Bulla Mountain in the rst ski shop, ‘Auski’, over the summer and winter months. Not long aer, he ran the second ski shop on the mountain with his wife, Margaret. George’s foresight saw a need to open a terary educaon instute on the mountain and he realised this by building the rst terary college campus on Mt Bulla. He built and owns many other properes on the mountain. His work and contribuons on Mt Bulla have provided the foundaon of what is, now, one of the most popular tourist aracons in Victoria. George’s donaon will provide Fronditha Care residents with a unique opportunity that they may have never been able to achieve, if it were not for the generosity and support of Mr Aivatoglou. We would like to thank George for his generous in-kind donaon. If you would like to make a donaon to Fronditha Care, like George did, please contact us on (03) 9552 4100 or visit our website www.frondithacare.org. We thank Mr Aivatoglou for his much appreciated donaon that will be enjoyed by many, for many years to come. "I spoke with past participants and they said it's one of the best conferences they've ever attended," Mr Kallos told Neos Kosmos. But for multiculturalism to be truly effective, Cr John Arkan of Coffs Harbour says the federal government needs to be representative of Australia's diversity. "When do we see these multicultural faces in the federal government? When is the true reflection of our society going to be seen in the federal arena? We need to raise the debate and we need to raise it at high levels," said Cr Arkan. Mr Ajaka, meanwhile, emphasised the need for greater collaboration between the various multicultural bodies across the country. "The vast majority of us believe in working together first and foremost as Australians, very proud Austral- ians, and also having the right to follow aspects of our culture, aspects of our religion, aspects of our belief and again, we're doing that incredibly well and we need to band together," he explained. Amongst those taking part in the conference were a number of Greek Australians, including FECCA executive Eugenia Grammatikakis; Georgia Zogalis of Settlement Services International (SII); Ross Tzannes AM, former president of the Sydney Film Festival; Mary Patetsos, Aged Care Finance Authority; Dina Petrakis of SSI and Kathy Totidis of the Parents & Carers Committee of Homebush Boys High, amongst others. 49872